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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24789961">"Fake" Friends</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/H0rr0r_Addict/pseuds/H0rr0r_Addict'>H0rr0r_Addict</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>No Fandom, Original Work</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Artificial Intelligence, Cruelty, Disappearances, Evil Corporations, Gen, Mystery, Not Really Character Death, Robots, Workplace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 10:15:07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,142</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24789961</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/H0rr0r_Addict/pseuds/H0rr0r_Addict</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Bonnie works at a factory that mass produces robots and artificial intelligence. The workers get wonderful health benefits, generous salaries, and plenty of paid vacation time. When Bonnie's long time co-worker Dolores goes missing, It's up to her to uncover the secrets of the Mindtelligence Corps.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Original Female Character &amp; Original Female Character, Original Female Character &amp; Original Male Character</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>"Fake" Friends</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hope you enjoy this short story :)</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>The Factory</strong>
</p>
<p>
  <strong>Chapter 1</strong>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <span>Bonnie woke up to the chime of her phone’s alarm system. Usually at this time her friend Dolores would already be up. Flooding Bonnie’s phone with text messages.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Strange, she wakes up at the crack of dawn.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Guess she’s sleeping in.” Bonnie said to nobody in particular. She lives in one of the apartments provided free to the employees of </span>
  <span>Mindtelligence Corps. It’s a tall skyscraper that houses over a thousand employees. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bonnie is thankful for her job, if she didn’t have it she wouldn’t be able to pay for her little brother’s medicine. Her brother, Sebastian, has a genetic disease that was discovered after Stella, the first AI, started being mass produced. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastian was pretty normal when he was diagnosed. He played like all the other kids just fine, but one day he just stopped smiling. He got distant and numb. He wouldn’t even get out of bed unless told to. His hands always felt cold, and he would spend hours just staring at the wall.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>The doctors told Bonnie that he would go into a catatonic state if he didn’t take medicine for it. It was hard, Bonnie couldn’t afford it. But then, a representative from Mindtelligence Corps came to their door and told her that she could get a job there and get free housing. Bonnie and Sebastien’s lives changed for the better because of Mindtelligence, she was sure of it.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bonnie smiled at the mirror, with her new job she was able to actually work on her looks. She put her auburn hair in cute buns. She usually wore glasses, but they weren’t allowed on the manufacturing floor. She had contacts in, they made her hazel eyes look less dull. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She slipped on her uniform; a blue, white, and silver jumpsuit with a hood and visor attached, and headed to Sebastien’s room to say goodbye.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Sebby? I’m heading out now.” She said, knowing he probably won’t respond.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Sebastien was sitting on the edge of his bed, completely still. He turned his head toward Bonnie’s voice, his blonde hair shifting. His dull, lifeless green eyes held no emotion.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Remember to take your medicine, Sebastien.” Bonnie said as she closed the door. She knew her brother was in there somewhere, it was the disease that made him like this.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I just need to keep working, then I can bring him back to normal.</span>
  </em>
  
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bonnie walked across the street to the factory. She took her morning coffee and bagel and sat down at her station on the AI Assimilation floor. It was Bonnie’s job to make sure none of the AI have faulty programming, using the Mindtelligence software. Sometimes the AI would talk to Bonnie, leaving cryptic messages. These are the faulty AI, they aren’t supposed to speak unless spoken to. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>It’s a shame. </span>
  </em>
  <span>She thinks, </span>
  <em>
    <span>The faulty ones are always the most lifelike.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bonnie turned her head to the empty station next to her. Dolores’ station. “Where did you go?” She said, “You never missed a day of work, so why now?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bonnie sighed. She may never know. Workers disappear all the time, but it was never this sudden. Admin would just announce that they were being transferred, but Dolores left without a word. She continued working until she heard a faint whistle.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Through the blue-tinted glass of her visor, Bonnie could see her manager sauntering up to her.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Her manager, Mr.Keter, had a known record of flirting with his employees. He wasn’t ugly, but Bonnie just wasn’t interested. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keter pushed his dirty blond hair back and smiled sleazily. “Hey Bon Bon, you’ve been ignoring me recently.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Ugh. Don’t call me that ever again.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bonnie mustered up the fakest smile she could make. “Oh, I was just busy. You know, with my brother.” She hoped Keter couldn’t see she was lying. She hardly has to worry about her brother, he could take care of himself for a couple hours.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keter smirked, “Well, I'm sure he could stay home while we go out on the town?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Well, maybe.” Bonnie mused,”But i’d prefer to spend the evening at home.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“I could always come over, help with dinner maybe?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“No no, we’re fine.” Bonnie faked a giggle,”I’m sure you have much better things to do.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“You could bring him with you?”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nope, he doesn’t really like new places.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keter looked frustrated. His murky green eyes shone with distaste. Bonnie had successfully pissed off her manager, that’s great. It’s a good thing that he has no real reason to fire her, or else she doesn’t know what she’d do.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Keter huffed and crossed his arms,”Suit yourself, I was giving you a great offer.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bonnie watched as Mr.Keter stalked off. “Freaking creep.” Bonnie sneered, “No means no.” </span>
</p>
<hr/>
<p>
  <span>The alarm rang for lunchtime, Bonnie started walking to the lobby but was stopped by a hand on her shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>Please don’t be that creep Mr.Keter.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>She turned her head. It wasn’t Mr.Keter. It was James, her friend. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>He looked concerned. “I saw Keter bothering you, did he threaten you?” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bonnie shook her head, “No, he asked me out and I kindly declined. If he does try to fire me I have audio of the whole interaction.” She waved her phone at him, it had the audio recorder app on.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>James sighed in relief, “Good, he may be a creep but he’s a good manager. My father wouldn’t let me fire him.”</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Oh yeah, Bonnie forgot to mention. James’ real name is Jamison Williams Mindler III. His father is the CEO of Mindtelligence and his grandfather was the founder. Bonnie and James became friends after James held her interview. They’ve been friends ever since. Just friends.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>James’ brown eyes shone with worry. “Hey Bonnie, have you seen Dolores?” James asked.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bonnie shook her head, “I don’t know where she went, she didn’t even text me this morning.” </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>They stood in silence, knowing that they may never see Dolores again. Disappearances happened in other sectors, never the one Bonnie worked in.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>James shook his head, “Well, can I treat you and your brother to lunch?” He smiled.</span>
</p>
<p>
  
  <em>
    <span>Thanks for changing the subject James.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bonnie smiled back, “Yeah, sure.” They headed back to Bonnie’s place to get Sebastien. It wasn’t a long walk, but it was long enough for Bonnie to worry. If people were disappearing in her sector, then will she eventually disappear too? It was dangerous in her city after all. A job at Mindtelligence Corps is the best work you can get around here. Other industries are envious, and those who are unemployed are desperate. </span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>Bonnie was spacing out so much that when she looked up she was at her door.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“What are you thinking about?” Said James as he opened the door. He put his hand on her shoulder.</span>
</p>
<p>
  <span>“Nothing, I’m fine.”</span>
</p>
<p> </p>
<p>
  <em>
    <span>I’m just fine.</span>
  </em>
</p>
<p> </p>
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